Unions are claiming victory in their campaign against the state government after an angry crowd of about 30,000 marched on State Parliament today.

It's just chaos for the sake of chaos. It's inconveniencing the public pointlessly because the policy is not going to change.

The crowd of public sector workers, made up mostly of teachers, public servants, police officers, firefighters and nurses, gathered to protest at the O'Farrell government's controversial legislation that limits public sector workers' pay rises to a maximum of 2.5 per cent per annum. Higher increases are possible only with productivity trade-offs.

NSW Teachers Protest

Thousands of teachers and other public sector workers have converged on The Domain before marching on Parliament House. Photo: Nick Moir

The crowd was also fired up over the government's decision, announced in this week's state budget, to slash 5000 jobs from the public sector through a program of voluntary redundancies.

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After the rally finished, the Public Service Association said it was confident the message of rejecting the job cuts and wage policies of the government had reached the public.

But Premier Barry O'Farrell dismissed the action as "pointless" and took the fight up to the protesters in a media conference shortly after the rally began.

"It's just chaos for the sake of chaos," he told reporters. "It's inconveniencing the public pointlessly because the policy is not going to change."

Mr O'Farrell also questioned the legality of the action, particularly by ferry workers who joined in the protest but were not covered by the state's industrial commission.

"It's an act of bastardry to pull ferries off," he said. "There would be people who are trying to use those ferries to get to long-standing medical appointments."

PSA assistant general secretary Steve Turner said about 6000 to 7000 members took part today - with about 5000 to 6000 from frontline public sector support staff including community service and legal officers, and about 800 to 1000 prison officers.

Addressing the crowd gathered at The Domain today, Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon was overwhelmed by the turnout, which was estimated by both organisers and police at about 30,000.

"Friends, we have a problem, there's too many of us here," he told the crowd, evoking wild applause.

"We said there would be at least 20,000 people here today, it looks like ... there are 30,000 people here today.

"If the Premier had any doubt about the anger of the public sector, all he has to do is look out the window of Parliament House."

NSW Teachers' Federation president Bob Lipscombe said cuts to back-office public service jobs would undermine the ability of teachers to provide quality education.

"This will impact on the support teachers receive," Mr Lipscombe told AAP.

The O'Farrell government promised 200 extra teachers in the budget, but Mr Lipscombe said fewer office staff in the Department of Education would make it harder for teachers to plan extra-curricular activities such as sports days.

"There's a whole range of tasks undertaken by public servants who aren't teachers," he said.

"There's a lot of work behind the scenes ranging from organising maintenance programs to extra-curricular activities and professional development.

"That will undermine how effective teachers are in the classroom."

Earlier, the crowd of protesters was urged to send a text message to a mobile phone number said to be linked to Mr O'Farrell.

But a spokesman for Unions NSW confirmed to the Herald that the mobile phone number was purchased by the organisation as a text-to-email service.

When a person texts a message to the number, it sends an email to Mr O'Farrell's ministerial email address. The number was not connected to Mr O'Farrell directly.

After leaving The Domain, the protesters took their march to Parliament House, where they were cheered on by Labor MPs from the balcony.

But the opposition's support was not overly welcomed, with one protester yelling: "Your fault. We're here because you screwed up."

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the government would pursue the Teachers' Federation through the Industrial Relations Commission over the strike, which was yesterday ruled unlawful. The maximum penalty is a fine of $20,000 for the union, but individual teachers who obeyed the strike today would not be fined.

The Teachers' Federation had already vowed to fight any such action.

- Liam Phillips, Stephanie Gardiner, Ben Grubb, Glenda Kwek and AAP

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How the events unfolded

2.12pm: Those protesters who swamped the mobile phone number yelled out to the crowd at today's rally in the hope they were texting their grievances directly to Barry O'Farrell will be a bit disappointed. A spokesman for Unions NSW has confirmed to us that the mobile phone number was purchased by the organisation as a text-to-email service. When a person texts a message to the number, it sends an email to Mr O'Farrell's ministerial email address. The number is not connected to Mr O'Farrell directly. Mind you, we pity the poor flunky who has to handle Barry's official email inbox...

1.54pm: Some eye-catching banners have been spotted towards the end of the rally, including one saying "Don't choke on your phlegm Barry" carried by a group of nurses from a respiratory care unit. Macquarie Street is now clear and some workers have gatheredquietly in Hyde Park, colliding with a very small "Free Syria" demonstration. Some workers finished the rally by running towards the Hyde Park fountain yelling "we won".

1.45pm: Rally organisers are confidently claiming a crowd of more than 30,000 have taken part in today's rally. But will it have any impact?

1.35pm: The long line of workers is still walking past Parliament House, some singing, "we've got the worst premier in the world" to the tune of, "I've got the whole world in my hands". The rally is made up of men and women of all ages, many with their children in tow.

1.15pm: Not everyone has given the Labor MPs on the balcony a warm welcome. Some are booing them and one man has been heard yelling out: "Your fault. We're here because you screwed up." The crowd appears to be thinning as rain starts to fall but their chants are still fiery.

Photo: Stephanie Gardiner

1.05pm: The rally has now poured on to Macquarie Street, with workers marching past Parliament House chanting "Shame, Barry, shame", blowing whistles and waving flags and banners. 11 Labor MPs can be seen standing on the balcony clapping the rally and giving the thumbs up. They include: Opposition Leader John Robertson, Carmel Tebbutt, Michael Daley, Steve Whan and Linda Burney. Some of the MPs are flashing the V for victory sign and waving.

1.03pm: We have not been able to confirm exactly how many nurses have gone out on strike today, but local health districts we've spoken to say they have contingency plans in place as the protest action was planned. A spokeswoman for the Northern Sydney Local Health District said: "We're not expecting our hospitals' clinical services, including surgical services, to be affected." The Sydney and South Western Sydney districts - so hospitals such as RPA, Canterbury, Bankstown, Campbelltown and Liverpool hospitals - say the contingency plans mean there have been "no negative impact on patient care or services".

12.50pm: Workers are starting to make their way out of The Domain and onto Macquarie Street, where they will take their protest to Parliament House.

12.45pm: OK, I think we know why the network is struggling. The crowd has been given a mobile phone number - presumably the Premier's - and told to send a text message saying "Not happy, Barry" all at the same time. The beachballs with Barry O'Farrell's face on them have been thrown into the crowd. You can see a handful of MPs on the balcony of Parliament House watching the proceedings.

12.40pm: We're getting reports the mobile phone networks are seriously struggling around The Domain, such is the demand caused by the rally. Have you had any problems? Email scoop@smh.com.au

12.25pm: The crowd has heard from union officials who are estimating the rally is made up of 30,000 people. It's hard to know but it's certainly a huge and rowdy crowd. Each speaker leads the rally in a chant of "Shame, Barry, shame."The NSW Police Association says about 1200 police officers are taking part in the strike.

12.15pm: Workers, including a firefighter, a nurse, a policewoman and a prison officer have all addressed the crowd. They all spoke of feeling "betrayed" by the Premier, who they say has broken election promises in denying public service workers better pay. Many spoke of their concern for the future of NSW if their services are threatened.

12.13pm: The Premier has just weighed into the strike debate in a press conference, blasting the action as "pointless". "It's just chaos for the sake of chaos," he told reporters. "It's inconveniencing the public pointlessly because the policy is not going to change." He also questioned the legality of some of the action, particularly by ferry workers who he said are not covered by the state's industrial commission. "It's an act of bastardry to pull ferries off," he said. "There would be people who are trying to use those ferries to get to long-standing medical appointments."

12.10pm: Teachers begin massing at The Domain.

Photo: Nick Moir

12.03pm: Who do you believe? Here are the arguments from the main protagonists:

Education Minister Adrian Piccoli: "Honestly I had hoped that the [Teachers] Federation would have simply abided by the [IRC] ruling. Part of the ruling was that the Federation ... immediately contact their members and actively discourage them from taking action. Now they haven't done that, they've done the opposite actually. They've sent an SMS telling their members to ignore the IRC. The union's going out on strike today arguing for the integrity of the IRC and how much they love the IRC, yet on the day that they are defending it they are defying it. That's rather ironic to me."

NSW Teachers Federation deputy president Gary Zadkovich: "They [the government] changed the law to deny our right to an independent hearing in that very commission. Our salaries and working conditions now are going to be attacked in the next four years by the unfair use of Parliament to enact laws that deny us the same rights as any other employee in this state. I think people out there would understand ... there are times in history when people in a democratic society can exercise their right to strike when the government gets it so wrong."

11.40am: Workers are being entertained by covers of Stand By Me and Lean On Me as more people arrive. Teachers are being hailed as "strong" for ignoring the IRC ruling against them striking. Some of the most striking signs include "Coalition = Demolition" and "Don't give the Liberals a blank cheque". The crowd has quickly grown to several thousand, filling the entire main ground in The Domain.

11.35am: It seems #dayofchaos is being pushed as the official Twitter hashtag for today's strike action. Rather apocalyptic, don't you think?

11.31am: The rally is about to begin. Busloads of workers on strike have been pulling up to the main ground in The Domain. Members of the police union are carrying signs saying "Cops deserve better" and "Why Barry, why?". The crowd has swelled to about 2500, many waving flags and some blowing whistles.

11.28am: Seems the 2.5 per cent pay issue is not the main driver of many teachers today. Here are some early comments from those gathered at The Domain:

"It's so important purely for the fact of the right of workers not being able to go to an independent umpire to hear our concerns about our conditions. The 2.5 per cent cap, that's only a very minor matter. It's more the attack, that we'll have no right to go anywhere. Everywhere in a democratic country you have a right to appeal and we are about to lose that if we don't win today." - Peter Scollard, plumbing TAFE teacher from south western Sydney

"I'm not so much worried about my job, I'm more concerned for the students that I have to teach. The whole thing about outsourcing of the voc-ed (vocational education) sector in NSW and nationally is going to push fees up, its going to lower the quality of education for students. So it's not so much a wages issue any more. It's for the students we are doing this as well." - Michael, an electrical trades teacher at TAFE in south western Sydney.

11.20am: Zachary Joseph, 11 from the Illawarra sums up the general reaction while attending the rally with his family.

Photo: Stephanie Gardiner

11.19am: Ferries update - For anyone who wants to visit Taronga Zoo, Sydney Ferries has charted a boat that will operate between Wharf 2 at Circular Quay and Taronga Zoo. It is not operating to timestable.

11.10am: More people are streaming in from all directions and gathering on the grass waving red and blue flags. One little girl is holding a sign saying "teachers' working conditions are my learning conditions". It has all the hallmarks of a workers' rally, with Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire now blaring over the stage speakers.

11.08am: In a statement, the Maritime Union of Australia said the strike showed ferry workers' opposition to the O'Farrell government's announcements about the privatisation of Sydney Ferries.

"The MUA continues to be frustrated by the lack of action from the O'Farrell government in guaranteeing the hard-fought rights and conditions of ferry workers," the union said.

But Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian slammed the strike as "not just illegal but unethical".

"I condemn this action which has left thousands of ferry customers in the lurch and has no justification at all," she said.

She said Sydney Ferries had sought a hearing with Fair Work Australia and expected the ferry workers who had gone on strike to be called back to work.

"These workers are covered by a federal award and are unaffected by any changes to state workplace arrangements," Ms Berejiklian said in a statement. "Walking off the job illegally is not acceptable and I won't stand by while staff ignore the law and inconvenience thousands of commuters."

10.36am: A few people are starting to gather on the grass in The Domain. Many are dressed in red - the traditional colour of the worker. There's a big collection of beach balls waiting to be thrown around, adorned by an unflattering picture of the Premier. Songs by U2 and Sting are blaring from speakers facing the back of Parliament House.

Photo: Stephanie Gardiner

10.28am: Today's strike march starts at 1pm from The Domain into Hospital Road, Shakespeare Place and Macquarie Street. It will stop at Parliament House and finish at Hyde Park. The roads around The Domain are closed from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

The NSW Department of Transport will also close the following roads as the marchers pass through:

College Street northbound between Park Street and Prince Albert Road.

Prince Albert Road in both directions between College Street and Macquarie Street.

St James Road in both directions between Elizabeth Street and Macquarie Street.

Macquarie Street in both directions between St James Road and Shakespeare Place.

Hunter Street in both directions between Phillip Street and Macquarie Street.

Two lanes of Shakespeare Place westbound between Hospital Road and Macquarie Street.

Hospital Road between the driveway of Parliament House and Shakespeare Place.

10.25am: There will be some disruption to public transport caused by today's rally and march on State Parliament. This follows disruption to Sydney Ferries services earlier this week as part of an ongoing industrial campaign.

Ferries: Sydney Ferries services are cancelled from 10.30am due to industrial action. The ferry tickets can be used on Sydney Buses and City Rail. More information

Buses: The Department of Transport said only the 441 bus would be affected by the strike. The 441 bus service will start and end at Queen Victoria Building in the CBD from noon to 3pm. Other buses might be affected by the delays.

Trains: CityRail says no train services are affected, but there could be overcrowding on trains and platforms before and after the march.

10.20am: NSW Labor leader John Robertson won't be taking part in the rally, despite being a former secretary of Unions NSW. "It's not for me to endorse this rally," Mr Robertson told AAP this morning. "It's a matter for the unions - they've made a decision that they are going to have a protest, I'll be inside [Parliament House] delivering my budget reply."

10.17am: "Why I am going out on strike" - A teacher explains why she feels teachers and other public sector workers should go out on strike. Agree or disagree?

10.14am: A NSW Police spokeswoman said police ''would not be commenting'' on the strike. But you'd gather they won't be having the best day at work today.

9.52am: NSW teachers will find sympathy with their colleagues in Catholic schools in the US state of Philadelphia, who have also gone on strike today. Read more.

9.20am: The NSW Nurses' Association and the Police Association of NSW are also urging their members to attend the rally.

A statement on the Police Association website says: "This will be our chance to stand side by side with nurses, firefighters and teachers to send a clear message to government that we will protect our working rights."

The Public Service Association of NSW says: "Barry O'Farrell told us to trust him but since his election he has taken away the rights of NSW public sector workers. He's now threatening to sack thousands of public sector workers across NSW. This will put pressure on our vital public services."

She said most schools had sent out letters or text messages by yesterday afternoon.

"It just caused so much confusion for parents as to what was happening, so we're just saying go with what you've been told."

9am: Comments are starting to flow in now, and it seems everyone has a strong opinion about whether the teachers should be striking. Join the debate below.

Almost 10,000 votes in our poll as well and it seems a strong majority of public opinion is in favour of the teachers. So far 59 per cent of respondents approve of today's strike. Cast your vote

8.46am: A spokesman for NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli said the minister was looking to pursue the Teachers Federation in the Industrial Relations Commission. The maximum fine is $20,000.

"We're getting advice on that through the department. That's probably a likely step at this stage," the spokesman said.

8.35am: Hundreds of career firefighters are planning to join today's rally to express sympathy for their public sector colleagues. For much of today they will be responding to 000 emergency calls only.

Fire Brigade Employees Union NSW state secretary Jim Casey said that the industrial action was about ordinary working people standing up for their rights.

"Professional firefighters are placed in an impossible position by these new state laws," he said in a statement on the union's website. "The choice has become to take a pay cut or see a cut in fire protection for the citizens of this state.

"Firefighters are not highly paid workers and have mortgages and families the same as everyone else. We cannot afford to take a real wage cut and it is not a reasonable ask of workers who are very committed to what they do.

"Firefighters in NSW will campaign against these laws up until the next state election and beyond if necessary, along with the rest of the trade union movement."

8.24am: NSW Teachers Federation deputy president Gary Zadkovich said he believed more than 600 schools would be closed across the state today. Teachers from the central west, Blue Mountains, Hunter, central coast and Illawarra areas are expected to converge in Sydney for the rally.

Mr Zadkovich said the limit on salary increases "erodes" teachers' standard of living. In the long-term it will be harder to attract new teachers, he said.

"What they're not prepared to pay teachers now ... they're going to pay for longer term as we become unable to have a teacher on every class," he said.

8.10am: So what's the strike all about? The Teachers Federation is objecting to the O'Farrell government's controversial legislation that limits public sector workers' pay rises to a maximum of 2.5 per cent per annum. Higher increases are only possible with productivity trade-offs.

The union's demands are that the O'Farrell government repeal the changes it made to the NSW Industrial Relations Act that it says:

deny the right to have a salaries and working conditions case decided independently by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission;

limit salary increases to 2.5 per cent per annum, which means a pay cut in real terms with inflation currently running at 3.6 per cent;

require salary increases above 2.5 per cent per annum to be funded by increasing employees' workloads and worsening the quality of public services provided to the people of New South Wales.

8.07am: The Industrial Relations Commission ruling is specifically targeted towards the Teachers Federation and could see the union fined a maximum of $20,000 for today's unlawful industrial action. Individual teachers will not be subjected to fines.

8.05am: NSW Education Department is urging parents wanting more information about today's strike to phone their local school or regional education office. Here's a list of contacts

12.15pm: Workers, including a firefighter, a nurse, a policewoman, a prison officer and a docks worker have all addressed the crowd. They all spoke of feeling "betrayed" by the Premier, who they say has broken election promises in denying public service workers better pay. Many spoke of their concern for the future of NSW if their services are threatened.

208 comments

Good on ya teachers! All public sector workers deserve better. I'll be there later with the HSU!

Commenter

JC

Location

Sydney

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:18AM

teachers can have a pay rise. they can also work from 8.30 to 5 every day and get 4 weeks annual leave. my children are having another pupil free day this friday. wtf!!!!if they dont think thats fair go and get a job somewhere else. it really is that easy. its what everyone else does. if they dont like their job they leave. I have never heard of a single teacher that has left because they know how good they have it. productivity guys. tax payers shouldnt be burdened with paying for teachers to lounge by the beach at our expense.

Commenter

smilingjack

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:19AM

What a fine example to set to the children in disobeying (court) orders. Disgraceful attitude teachers.

Commenter

Alan

Location

Sydney

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:23AM

I am supporting you teachers! Teachers do work 9-5 jobs - their jobs do not start and end in the physical classroom. 'Holidays' are often spent on courses, doing lesson plans, school administration, exam marking and a variety of work tasks. To think teachers work 9-3 and do nothing else is so disingenuous. Go teachers - you provide a valuable service for all humans!

Commenter

MarlaR

Location

Sydney

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:34AM

As a parent, all I can say is good on the teachers and good luck. This government policy wasn't mentioned prior to the election and is bad, bad policy.If anything, it makes a crap pubilc service much much worse.

By all means, limit back-end office payrises, but frontline staff like teachers, cops, child care servcies and firefighters (to mention but a few) not only need more heads, they need better pay to attract those heads.

The teachers are giving up a day's pay to protest - I bet Alan or Smilingjack have never been that committed to anything.

Commenter

An Idle Dad

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:42AM

@smilingjack â it's not 8:30 to 5pm. Try 8:30 to 10pm. They teach the kids during school hours and then spend the night preparing for their classes down the track, setting exams, marking them, attending meetings etc.etc. Do you think they get paid overtime or bonuses for that? They don't even get time in lieu. Yet they are at risk of having their pay capped at a rate below inflation growth? And have further workload piled onto them. Yes, they have 4 weeks holiday leave, but again it is spent preparing for classes and updating their material to meet the always changing education system. Keep in mind most teachers have to prepare material and teach at least 4 different classes ranging from years 7-12. You might have time to prepare for your presentations during work hours, but these teachers don't.

Commenter

RealityCheck

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:46AM

A disgraceful example of beviour to set for our young people. Next time they don't do as you (teachers) say it would be hypocritical to reprimand them!

Commenter

Stephen

Location

Sydney

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:47AM

You have to give it to the Liberals. They don't ever change their spots.

Bring on an industrial dispute then blame the union.

Divide the electorate, wedge politics. Call it what you will, buut voters keep falling for it and the Liberal supporters lap it up.

Commenter

Steve

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:49AM

All you people berating teachers are clueless. My partner is a teacher. She leaves home everyday at 7.00am & she is rarely home before 6.30pm. Most Fridays she is not home before 10.30pm because of debating or some such thing.During exam & assessment periods it is not unusual for her to be up past midnight reading & marking assessments.As for school holidays, at least half of each holiday is spent marking exams/assessments.I too, used to think teachers had it easy. Starting work at 8.30am finishing at 3.30pm and what about all those holidays????? That is until I lived with one. The reality of teaching these days is vastly different to what people assume. The workload is huge. Add to that the abuse from children & their parents & quite frankly I wouldn't be a teacher if they were paid double what they are paid now. It is truly one of the most thankless professions.

Good on teachers for taking this action Hopefully someday all you do for our children will be genuinely appreciated.

Commenter

Malcolm

Location

Sydney

Date and time

September 08, 2011, 8:51AM

If the NSW government were serious in stating that one of their gaols (Gaol 30) in the recently released NSW State Plan (http://www.2021.nsw.gov.au/index.php) to "attract and retain a high calibre professional public sector workforce" then I'd like to know how they envision meeting this objective by placing such unfair restrictive conditions on the public workforce.

Our kids deserve the best education that our taxes can afford and attacking teachers' pay and work conditions isn't going to deliver this. Same goes for health, police, fire fighters etc.